Special Counsel Jack Smith is now accusing former President Donald Trump's legal team of having misled him on the issue of whether or not the trial ought to be televised.
Smith, according to Law & Crime, did so in a filing that he submitted to the court on Sunday.
This is all taking place in Washington, D.C., where Smith has indicted Trump, claiming that the former president engaged in criminal activity following the 2020 presidential election.
Over the past two weeks, the parties have been fighting about whether or not the trial ought to be televised.
About ten days ago, Smith filed a motion in which he asked the court not to allow cameras in the courtroom. This was in response to a push, including from multiple mainstream news outlets, to have the case televised.
The federal courts do have a rule that prohibits cameras in the courtroom. Smith wants Judge Tanya Chutkan to enforce this rule.
But, many have argued that an exception ought to be made here considering the circumstances of the case, including the fact that Trump is the former president and the clear favorite to become the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2024.
Trump was given a week to respond to Smith's motion, and he did so on Friday. Trump, in the filing, said that he would like to see the trial televised.
The former president released a statement on the matter, saying, "I want this trial to be seen by everybody in the world. The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness and I want sunlight."
Apparently, Trump's request to have the trial televised came as somewhat of an unpleasant surprise to Smith. At least this is what Smith indicated in the filing that he submitted on Sunday.
Smith wrote:
On November 3, 2023, the United States filed an opposition to applications of a coalition of media organizations seeking to record and broadcast the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump ("the defendant"). ECF No. 16. In advance of that filing, the Government sought the defendant’s position on the applications, and his counsel requested that the Government represent to the Court that he took no position. The Government accurately reported that to the Court. Id. at n.2. On November 10, however, the defendant reversed course and filed a response in support of the applications.
Smith, in the filing, also blasted Trump for the former president's recent statements on the case.
"The defendant’s response did not engage with the relevant Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure or cite any applicable case law, and instead made false and incendiary claims about the administration of his criminal case, United States v. Trump, No. 23-cr-257 (TSC)," Smith wrote.
Smith is now asking Chutkan to allow him to formally respond to Trump's request for the trial to be televised. Chutkan, at the time of this writing, has yet to respond.
